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Lili
Lili is an engineered a priori constructed language based on the concept of ambiguation and disambiguation. Alphabet and phonology Consonants Lili has 16 consonants: b: /b c: /ʃ d: /d f: /f g: /ɡ j: /ʒ k: /k l: /l m: /m n: /n p: /p r: /r s: /s t: /t v: /v z: /z Vowels Lili has 5 vowels: a: /a e: /ɛ i: /i o: /ɔ u: /u Lessons Syntax Lili has a SVO word order. Ignoring "p" and "t" (which we'll see later), the elements that occupy the odd positions in a sentence are called "operands", while the elements that occupy the even positions in a sentence are called "operators". Ignoring "p" and "t", there must always be an odd number of elements in a sentence, starting and ending with an operand and alternating with operators. A sentence in Lili looks like this: operand+operator+operand+operator+operand... etc. For example, let's take "I eat an apple" as an example. The sentence is: "ci nakai rend" c: I (operand) naka: to eat (operator) rend: apple (operand) Now, there need to be some explanation. Every word is separated by an "l" or by an "i", and spaces are free. For example, the same sentence can be written as "cinakairend", "cinaka irend", "cinak airend", "cina kairend"... spaces are completely free. Parentheses Let's consider the following sentence: "I eat a red apple". The sentence will be: "ci nakalpi rendi kickault" c: I (operand) naka: to eat (operator) p: (open parenthesis) rend: apple (operand) k: (connects a noun to an adjective) (operator) ckau: red (operand) t: (close parenthesis) The parenthesis after "naka" indicates that "red apple" is to be considered as a single entity. Without the parenthesis, "ci nakai rendi kickau" would have meant "the fact that I eat an apple is red", which makes no sense. That's because the word "red" would have modified the whole sentence, when in reality only the apple is red. Switch Adding an "e-" before any operator will switch A (the thing before the operator) and B (the thing after the operator). For example: "cina kairend" = "I eat an apple" "rend lena kalc" = "I eat an apple" They mean exactly the same thing. Degree words Words with a hyphen like "z-ca" usually mean a thing or its opposite. In this case, "z-ca" means "sad-happy". They are inflected like this: zuoca: very sad (-3) zueca: sad (-2) zuaca: a bit sad (-1) zuca: neither sad nor happy (0) zoca: a bit happy (1) zeca: happy (2) zaca: very happy (3) Also: zoece: saddest zoace: happiest zeuce: sadder zeoce: happier Verbal tenses After the operator "z" (which introduces time), the operand "p-f" indicates past, present, or future. puof: distant past (-3) puef: medium past (-2) puaf: immediate past (-1) puf: present (0) pof: immediate future (1) pef: medium future (2) paf: distant future (3) For example: "ci nakai rendi zipof" = "I'm about to eat an apple" Singular and plural markers Unmarked nouns in Lili are neither singular nor plural. To mark them as singular or plural you need to use the operator "k", and after that, "sn" for the singular, "pn" for the plural, and "gn" for generalizations. Marking singulars, plurals or generalization is optional, although marking generalizations is recommended. rend = apple(s) rendikisn = an apple rendikipn = apples rendikign = apples (in general) The generalization marker is used in sentences like "humans are stupid". "aboti kigni gelduesm" = "humans are stupid" abot: human (operand) k: (connects nouns to adjectives... in this case the generalization marker) (operator) gn: (generalization marker) (operand) ge: (copula) (operator) d-sm: dumb-smart (operand) Gendered pronouns There are 5 genders in Lili: common, inanimate, animate, masculine and feminine. Common is the gender that can be applied to anything. Inanimate is the gender for inanimate and/or abstract things. It includes vegetation. Animate is for humans and animals (both male and female). Masculine is for male humans and animals. Feminine is for female humans and animals. Here are the pronouns: c: I (animate) ac: I (feminine) uc: I (masculine) j: you (animate) aj: you (feminine) uj: you (masculine) deo: he/she/it (common) duo: it (inanimate) due: he/she (animate) dea: she (feminine) deu: he (masculine) ce: we (inclusive... includes the listener) co: we (exclusive... excludes the listener) ja: you (plural) doa: they coa: we/they You're probably confused about "coa". You might have noticed that in English, people say "we" when people belonging to the speaker's group have done something, even though the speaker did nothing. For example, if someone lives in London, he/she might say "we have the best food in the world", even though the speaker himself/herself doesn't have the best food in the world. In Lili, "coa" is the pronoun used in this case. To gender something else, like a cat, you have to use the operator "k" and then the operators "na" (feminine) or "vu" (masculine). cuta: cat cutalkina: female cat cutalkivu: male cat Case prepositions There are a lot of operators that function like prepositions that function like cases. For example, "cm" is the comitative operator, that means "in company of", "with". For example: "cidi asob icmij" = "I play with you" c: I (operand) d: (connects a subject to a verb) (operator) asob: to play (operand) cm: with/in company of (operator) j: you (operand) As another example, "ns" is the instrumental operator, that means "by the means of". "cidi naka insizrau" = "I eat with a fork" c: I (operand) d: (connects a subject to a verb) (operator) naka: to eat (operand) ns: by the means of (instrumental) (operator) zrau: fork (operand) Evidentiality After the operator "av", you can insert the source of a statement. For example: fer: experienced event kre: hearsay dop: inference (when you are sure something happened but didn't experience it yourself) zuf: speculation (when you have no idea whether what you're talking about is true or false, similar to the word "might" or "I suppose that...") Example sentence: "deuldi cafala vizuf" = "he might be sleeping" deu: he (operand) d: (connects a subject to a verb) (operator) cafa: sleep (operand) av: (insert source) (operator) zuf: speculation (operand) You can use normal words after "av", too. Like "benk" (to study). Adding "avibenk" to a sentence means you learned it through studying. Negative and interrogative sentences After the operator "k", the operand "u" turns the sentence (or a part of the sentence) to negative, while "ba" turns it into a yes/no interrogative. Examples: ji nakai rendi zipedal kiu: you didn't eat any apple today ji nakai rendi zipedal kiba: did you eat any apple today? j: you (operand) naka: to eat (operator) rend: apple (operand) z: (introduces time) (operator) peda: the past part of today (operand) k: (in this case connects the sentence to "u" or "ba") (operator) u: negative (operand); ba: yes/no interrogative (operand) It is possible to refer to only part of the sentence, to express some nuances. For example: jikiul nakai rendi zipeda: it wasn't you who ate an apple today jikibal nakai rendi zipeda: was it you who ate an apple today? ji nakalpi rendikiulti zipeda: it wasn't an apple the thing you ate today ji nakalpi rendkibalti zipeda: was it an apple the thing you ate today? ji nakai rendi zipi pedalkiult: it wasn't today that you ate an apple ji nakai rendi zipi pedalkibalt: was it today that you ate an apple? Types of yes/no questions There are 9 types of yes/no questions, according to what the speaker thinks and hopes the answer to be. "ba": standard "bae": the speaker hopes the answer will be "yes" "bao": the speaker hopes the answer will be "no" "be": the speaker thinks the answer will be "yes" "bea": the speaker thinks and hopes the answer will be "yes" "beo": the speaker thinks the answer will be "yes", but hopes the answer will be "no" "bu": the speaker thinks the answer will be "no" "bua": the speaker thinks the answer will be "no", but hopes the answer will be "yes" "buo": the speaker thinks and hopes the answer will be "no" Example: jlaboci ciki bua: will you hug me? (the speaker thinks the listener isn't going to hug him/her, but hopes for a hug) j: you (operand) aboc: hug (operator) c: I (operand) k: (connecting operator) bua: yes/no interrogative (operand) Relative pronouns There are mainly two relative pronouns, "reo" and "gno". For example: medei reolpi ubutiri aboti tigel puesno: bears who kill humans are dangerous medei gnolpi ubutiri aboti tigel puesno: bears, who kill humans, are dangerous If the pronoun "reo" is used, then the sentence means that only the bears who kill humans are dangerous, while if the pronoun "gno" is used, then the sentence means that bears usually kill humans, therefore they are dangerous. mede: bear (operand) reo/gno: (relative pronouns) (operator) p: (open parenthesis) ubut: to kill (operand) r: (connects a verb to an object) (operator) abot: human (operand) t: (close parenthesis) ge: (copula) (operator) p-sno: dangerous-safe (operand) "Like" There are four ways to say "like" to compare something to something else: use the operators "kak", "kek", "kok" or "kuk". For example: jidi fbaki kak ikbac: you smell like a goat (you smell, and goats smell too) jidi fbaki kek ikbac: you smell like a goat (the smell is similar) jidi fbaki kok ikbac: you smell like a goat (the intensity is similar) jidi fbaki kuk ikbac: you smell like a goat (the smell and intensity are similar) j: you (operand) d: (connects a subject to a verb) (operator) fbak: to smell (like) (operand) kak/kek/kok/kuk: "like" (comparison) (operator) kbac: goat (operand) From an individual to a group The operand "koze", after the operator "k", modifies a noun and turns, for example, "human" into "humankind". abot: human aboti kikoze: humankind Everyday, a guy looks at me "catelki voklezipi abudi cbebiciti" = "everyday, a guy looks at me" cate: day (period from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59) (operand) k: (connecting operator) vok: every (operand) ez: (switched "z") (operator) p: (open parenthesis) abud: male human (operand) cbeb: to look (at something) (operator) c: I (operand) t: (close parenthesis) --- This sentence is ambiguous, because we don't know if it's always the same guy or if the guy can be different everytime. There is an optional way to disambiguate this sentence, putting the operand "dob" after the operator "k" to indicate that the guy is always the same, and "tob" to indicate that it can change. "catelki voklezipi abudikidobi cbebiciti" = "everyday, a guy (always the same one) looks at me" "catelki voklezipi abudikitobi cbebiciti" = "everyday, a guy (not always the same one) looks at me" Expectations "To expect" in English has two meanings: "to want", and "to think something will happen". They are translated as "casu" and "keco" respectively. cicasul vtau: I expect (want) an answer cikecol vtau: I expect (think that will happen) an answer --- c: I (operand) casu/keco: (operators) vtau: answer (operand) Requests After the operator "m", "rop" indicates that it's a request. jlabo cici mirop: please hug me j: you (operand) aboc: hug (operator) c: I (operand) m: (operator) rob: (request) (operand) Emotions and tones of voice After the operator "m", a word that indicates emotion or tone of voice, indicates that the sentence is said with that emotion or tone or voice. For example: cicasulpi clabo ciji timiursa: I want to hug you (said with a smile) c: I (operand) casu: to want (operator) p: (open parenthesis) c: I (operand) aboc: to hug (operator) j: you (operand) t: (close parenthesis) m: (operator) ursa: smile (operand) You can also use "m" as an operand, then use "r", and then the name of the emotion, to use them as emoticons. miriursa: (smile emoticon, spoken equivalent of smiling) Conditionals "rac" means "therefore", and "erac" is the switch of "rac", it means "because". jlabo cici racipi cigel zacalt: you hug me, therefore I'm very happy cigel zacal eracipi jlabo cicilt: I'm very happy, because you hug me "rof" means "if A, then B". Its switch "erof" is a bit difficult to translate in English, but it's something like:"it would be A, if B" jlabo cici rofipi cigel zacalt: if you hug me, then I'm very happy cigel zacal erofipi jlabo cicilt: I would be very happy if you hugged me "rer" can either mean "rac" or "rof" jlabo cici reripi cigel zacalt It's not specified whether the listener hugs the speaker or not. Affirmative or negative "au" after the operator "k" ambiguates the sentence, rendering it affirmative or negative. deala bocici klau: she hugs me, OR she doesn't hug me dea: she (operand) aboc: to hug (operator) c: I (operand) k: (connecting operator) au: (affirmative/negative) (operand) The sentence can be approximately translated in English as "she doesn't necessarily hug me". Useful when you don't want to answer. Yes/no a: yes au: yes OR no (when you don't want to answer) u: no Weather Usually, saying "rejd" (rain) or "kavo" (snow) is enough to say "it rains" or "it snows". If you want to specify it's unambiguously a verb, then say "weather event" + "d" + "suba", for example: rejdidi suba: it rains But it's unnecessary. "rejd" is enough, even though it can be either a noun or a verb if alone. If you want to specify "rain" as a noun, use the noun suffix "un" after the operator "k". rejd: rain (noun)/it rains rejdidi suba: it rains rejdi klun: rain (noun) Reflexives "caj" is the reflexive pronoun, and can be used interchangeably with normal pronouns. clabo cic = clabo cicaj = I hug myself Sexual orientations and fetishes There are two words to describe your sexual preferences: "zoge" and "fnau". "zoge" means you want to have sex with someone, while "fnau" is a fetish. "Towards" is "r". They can be either operands or operators. zogeirigog: homosexuality zogeiricta: heterosexuality zogeirizev: bisexuality zogeiriguedo: pedophilia zogeirikruko: necrophilia zogeiripn: polygamy fnauirigava: foot fetish cizogelgog: I'm gay cizogeicta: I'm straight cifnaulgava: I have a foot fetish The first time "The first time she hugged me, I was very happy". Let's see how to translate this. "Time" (in the sense of "occurrence") is "raop". "One" is "ras". To turn a cardinal number into an ordinal number, use "rod". "First" is "rasikirod". "The first time" is "raopikipi rasikiroditi". "She hugged me" is "deala bocic". To connect these two sentences, we must use the operator "dac". "raopikipi rasikiroditi dacipi deala bociciti" = "the first time she hugged me". "I was very happy" is "cigel zaca". To connect these two sentences, we must use the operator "ez", which is the switch of "z". The complete sentence will be: "raopikipi rasikiroditi dacipi deala bocicitlezipi cigel zacalt" = "The first time she hugged me, I was very happy" Expressing your opinion about an event Use the operand "b-ga" (bad-good) and refer to the whole sentence. For example: jigei zbefi kibuega: you're fat (I don't like it) jigei zbefi kibuga: you're fat (I have a neutral opinion about it) jigei zbefi kibega: you're fat (I like it) j: you (operand) ge: (copula) (operator) zb-f: slim-fat (operand) k: (connecting operator) b-ga: bad-good (operand) Politeness After the operator "m", the following operands express different levels of politeness. fuerb: vulgar fuarb: informal furb: humble forb: polite ferb: honorific Sarcasm and metaphors After the operator "m", "sra" is the operand that indicates that something is sarcastic, "sru" indicates that it's not sarcastic, "nta" indicates that it's a metaphor while "ntu" indicates that it should be taken literally. Sarcasm and metaphors can be combined with each other. cidismer: I'm dying (metaphorically or literally) cidismeri minta: I'm dying (metaphorically, i.e. the speaker is very uncomfortable) cidismeri mintu: I'm dying (literally) c: I (operand) d: (connects a subject to a verb) (operator) smer: to die (operand) My book "de" is the possessive, but it's ambiguous. cidelonda: my book Did I buy it? Did I write it? It's unspecified. cidebionda: my book (I bought it, but someone else wrote it) cidekionda: my book (the one I wrote) Note that this distinction isn't valid for every word. In doubt, use "de". Meat "cvuv" is the animal meat for human consumption. "animal" + "de" + "cvuv" means "the meat of animal as food". For example, "akro" is chicken, but it refers to when the animal is alive. To refer to its meat as food, say "akroldei cvuv". Days of the week zava: Sunday buoz: Monday mazn: Tuesday vefn: Wednesday done: Thursday apro: Friday avep: Saturday Permissions and prohibitions orab: compulsory crao: encouraged sodu: permitted zvaz: discouraged gnau: prohibited --- soduiri smoki kiba: is smoking here permitted? cicraoikbaz: I encourage criticism Habitual aspect "baz" is the habitual aspect, and it goes after the operator "k", as usual. ci nakai rendi kibaz: I habitually eat apples ci cbebi anami kibaz: I habitually watch cartoons ci cbebipi anami kidobiti kibaz: There's a cartoon I habitually watch ci cbebipi anami kiboditi kibazi zipuef: There's a cartoon I used to watch When the listener makes the speaker feel an emotion After the sentence, after the operator "m", insert + "erag" + "j". Don't forget to use the parenthesis correctly. Seasons of the year vesan: spring retom: summer osne: autumn zmau: winter Topic marker "top" is the topic marker. It broadly means "as opposed to something/someone else". For example: cina kalpi rendikisniti zipuaf: I just ate an apple cikitopi nakalpi rendikisniti zipuaf: It was me who just ate an apple (and not someone else) cina kalpi rendikisniki topiti zipuaf: It was an apple the thing I just ate (and not something else) My hand There are two meanings of "my hand", though one is extremely unlikely cidelvado: my hand (the one of my body) cidezivado: my hand (the hand of someone else that I consider to be my property) "cidezivado" can be used, in an unlikely hypothetical case, if I cut off someone's hand and consider it to be mine. Vocative Name of the thing you're calling + "v" + sentence abadivipi clabanijit: I really love you, girl abad: female human (operand) v: (vocative) (operator) p: (open parenthesis) c: I (operand) ab-n: to hate-love (romantically) (operator) j: you (operand) t: (close parenthesis) In a certain style "kub" means style. "pef" "means "future". "kubikipef" means "futuristic style". About questions again "bab" is an interrogative marker that means the question is affirmative for the speaker. "bac" means the question is negative for the speaker: jigel zecal kibab: are you happy, too? (I am) jigel zecal kibac: are you happy? (I'm not) It's cold, according to whom? "saz", "sez" and "soz" mean "to have an opinion (that)", but they're different. For example, consider the three following sentences: akobikiulmi rople raci kueta: please don't go outside, because it's cold (standard) akobikiulmi rople racipi cisazi kuetalt: please don't go outside, because I think it's cold (see below) akobikiulmi rople racipi cisezi kuetalt: please don't go outside, because I think it's cold (see below) The second sentence is strange, because it literally means that the speaker doesn't want the listener to go outside, because the speaker thinks the temperature is cold. The third sentence means the same thing, with the exception that the speaker thinks it's cold for people in general, not only for him/her. "soz" can either mean "saz" or "sez". akob: to go outside (operand) k: (connecting operator) u: (negative) (operand) m: (operator) rop: (request) (operand) erac: (switch of "rac") (operator) p: (open parenthesis) c: I (operand) saz/sez: to have the opinion that (operator) k-ta: cold-hot (operand) t: (close parenthesis) Difficult and easy "Difficult" and "easy" have two meanings each. "z-de" means "difficult-easy" in the sense that something is difficult or easy to do, while "s-zu" means "difficult-easy" in the sense that something is unlikely or likely to happen. For example: aboti reolpi krekalki zedelt: a person who gets angry easily (see below) aboti reolpi krekalki sezult: a person who gets angry easily (see below) The first sentence means that the person described finds getting angry to be an easy achievement. The second sentence means that the person described often gets angry for little to no reason. Usually, in English, "a person who gets angry easily" is meant as in the second sentence, and the meaning of the first sentence would be considered a unusual interpretation. Vocabulary (work in progress) (68 words) aboc: hug ac: I (feminine) aj: you (feminine) asob: to play (not in the sense of playing a musical istrument) av: (evidential preposition: inserts the source of the statement) ba: (interrogative yes/no marker) (see lesson 11) bae: (see lesson 11) bao: (see lesson 11) be: (see lesson 11) bea: (see lesson 11) benk: to study beo: (see lesson 11) bu: (see lesson 11) bua: (see lesson 11) buo: (see lesson 11) c: I (animate) cafa: to sleep ce: we (inclusive... includes the listener) ckau: red cm: (comitative preposition: with, in company of) co: we (exclusive... excludes the listener) coa: we/they d: (usually connects a subject to a verb) dea: she (feminine) deo: he/she/it (common) deu: he (masculine) doa: they dop: inference due: he/she (animate) duo: it (inanimate) d-sm: dumb-smart fbak: to smell (to emanate a smell, not in the sense of detecting a smell with senses) fer: direct experience of an event ge: (affirmative copula) gn: (generalization marker) (see lesson 6) gno: (relative pronoun) (see lesson 12) j: you (animate) ja: you (plural) k: (usually connects a noun or a sentence to an adjective or to a modifier) kak: like (see lesson 13) kbac: goat kek: like (see lesson 13) kok: like (see lesson 13) kre: hearsay kuk: like (see lesson 13) mede: bear (animal) na: female naka: to eat ns: (instrumental preposition: with, in company of) p: (open parenthesis) peda: the past part of today pn: (plural marker) p-f: past-future p-sno: dangerous-safe r: (usually connects a verb to an object) rend: apple reo: (relative pronoun) (see lesson 12) sn: (singular marker) t: (close parenthesis) u: (negation marker) ubut: to kill, murder uc: I (masculine) uj: you (masculine) ugu: (negative copula) vu: male z-ca: sad-happy zrau: fork zuf: speculation